Fjord, 2024. Organic peace silk, thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 30 x 47 Image courtesy of Jeff Cords.
The Fragile Power of Sund: Time, Tides, and Textiles in Moira Bateman’s Solo Exhibition
Review By Laura Laptsevitch
Moira Bateman’s Sund (Notes from the Sea), on view through March 8 at Form and Content in Minneapolis, Minnesota, presents a compelling meditation on the vulnerability of our waterways and the urgent need for their protection. This exhibition, drawing from Bateman’s summer 2024 residency in Ålvik, Norway, prompts a sobering reflection on Norway’s industrial fishing industries and the pollution of our water. Sund is topical—at a time when textiles are experiencing a resurgence in contemporary art, and environmental consciousness is more relevant than ever, Sund stands at the intersection of both, a powerful and timely moment.
Details of Seadrift 1 (left) and 2 (right), 2024, sea-weathered woven plastic fisheries “big bag” remnant recovered in Hardangerfjord, Norway, 20 x 41 inches. Images courtesy of Arts District Imageworks.
Entering the gallery, the first piece along the wall is Seadrift 1-3. Recovered in Hardangerfjord, Norway, Seadrift sets the tone for Sund. It is one of just two types of found objects present in the show. With Sund (Notes from the Sea), there is an essential desire to give voice to the landscape. Seadrift 1-3 presents a strong voice.
These objects were recovered by Bateman in a Norwegian fjord—a deep, elongated, narrow inlet carved by glaciers filled with seawater. Leftovers of the salmon farming industry, these fragments were once a “big bag” used to transport fish feed. According to notes provided by Dr. Marte Haave, these fragments are, more than likely, several years old. A great deal of litter washes up in Norway’s fjord; plastic waste remains a problem. The bags, now Seadrift 1, 2, & 3, have been run down by sea currents and weathered by rock abrasions. What is left is the irregularly shaped plastic weave broken down into bits.
One can’t help but look closely. I noticed the silhouette is similar to the shapes found in topographical maps—both land and water. I was not off in my estimation—Bateman’s degree in landscape ecology and landscape architecture has a hand in the choice of silhouette. With an ode to maps, the presentation of Seadrift 1-3 puts forth another connection: a reference to the scientific.
Seadrift 1-3 are presented like specimens, arranged neatly and purposefully along the wall. One is urged to look closely; this close looking, this watchfulness, is yet another way to examine and experience the pieces of Sund. I can’t help but examine the rest of the gallery with the same careful eye.
Sund (Notes from the Sea) at Form+Content Gallery in Minneapolis, 2025. Right: Crosscurrent, 2024, organic peace silk, thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 50 x 41 inches. Left: Just Beyond Fyksesund, 2024, organic peace silk, thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, pigments, 48 x 36 inches.
Following Seadrift 1-3 are Crosscurrent (right) and Just Beyond Fyksesund (left). Both are made from organic peace silk, thread, wax, and fermented mineral mud dye. Just Beyond Fyksesund, though, includes the addition of natural pigments to achieve its color.
The object itself is equally as important as the slow, intricate process. Bateman utilizes a fabric dyeing technique to achieve the deep color, using fermented mineral mud dye, a practice that combines plant tannin's, mineral-rich mud, and microorganisms to dye cloth. Through working with mud on site in the natural waterways, the organic matter feeds the microorganisms in the mud, converting the mud’s natural iron into ferrous sulfate. It’s a delicate balance of experimenting with the dyeing processes and letting the world’s forces naturally erode the fabric.
Crosscurrent, 2024, organic peace silk, thread, wax fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 50 x 41 inches. Image courtesy of Jeff Cords.
Perhaps the most striking piece in Sund (Notes from the Sea) is Crosscurrent. The way the silk is extended from the wall, floating so gracefully, with such intricate cast shadows and erosion, placing attention on the slow process of decay—I am convinced Crosscurrent could not be replicated in any other fashion. Time is a key element.
It's powerful viewing Crosscurrent and Just Beyond Fyksesund together. Both are so different. Though each have endured the same elements for the same length of time, Just Beyond Fyksesund did not experience the same type of decay as Crosscurrent. There are no holes, no abrasions; just wrinkles, creases, and the deep hue. There’s an element of unpredictability with Bateman’s process; two fabrics can be treated in the same fashion yet experience aging so differently. Just Beyond Fyksesund stayed intact, while Crosscurrent sustained rips, cuts, and gashes. Maybe that’s the point: one way or another, through time or chance, we all experience the natural outcome of the life cycle.
One element that stands the test of time is rock.
Emiliania huxleyi, 2024, Plastifolie, 41 x 37 inches. Image courtesy of Form+Content Gallery.
Sund’s next piece, Emiliania huxleyi, contains the second found object—the cast of a rock recovered at Hardangerfjord. This rock is the agent that pinned Seadrift 1, or the “big bag,” in a rock crevice along the fjord at Norheimsund. With 49 individual castings, the rock has given shape to many of the individual parts of Emiliania huxleyi.
I cannot help but notice the color. The turquoise is distinct. With an overwhelming dominance of dark neutral colors, Emiliania huxleyi reminds us where we are: deep in ocean water. In this work, the hue can be credited to Plastifolie, a Norwegian plastic wrap composed of 70% recycled plastic. When layered, the blue-green color forms. The same turquoise of the Plastifolie can be seen at Hardangerfjord every few years in the spring. For just a few weeks, a type of microscopic marine algae blooms—a primary single-cell phytoplankton called Emiliania huxleyi, which gives Hardangerfjord the bright turquoise hue.
Every element of Sund ties back to place. This is not limited to color. Even the shape of the rock, the elongated oval, is the very shape you would find examining phytoplankton under a microscope. Bateman has a knack for examining things closely—an understatement with Sund’s next piece, Seadrift 1.
Seadrift 1, 2024, scanned and enlarged image of sea-weathered woven plastic fisheries “big bag” remnants recovered in Hardangerfjord, Norway, print on archival paper, 50 x 96 inches. Image courtesy of Form+Content Gallery.
Seadrift 1 is a scanned, enlarged image of the woven plastic material seen previously in the gallery. It pictures the sea-weathered plastic fishers, or “big bag,” printed on archival paper. Seadrift 1 commands attention. At 50 x 96 inches, Seadrift 1 has a particular presence; it cannot be ignored. There’s beauty in seeing so clearly—being engulfed in the archival print. At a high resolution, 850 ppi, I can see the smallest of details, including the razor-thin, individual hairs of the plastic. There is some irony; instead of a small bag in a big ocean, we have a big bag in a small gallery. It shows the complexity, even the beauty, of the polluted materials in our water.
Perspective matters with Seadrift 1. At such a large scale, one could imagine that we are now the algae at Ålvik’s fjord, confronted with a vast, foreign object. As non-biodegradable plastic, it serves as a toxic force to our water. Had Bateman not recovered the object in Hardangerfjord, it would likely remain wedged in the rock and continue to interfere with the natural ecosystem.
In Sund, one object that, conversely, serves the ecosystem is the organic peace silk. Unlike woven plastic, it is non-toxic and biodegradable, even feeding the microorganisms in the mud and water.
Sund (Notes from the Sea) at Form+Content Gallery in Minneapolis, 2025. Right: Fjord, 2024, organic peace silk, thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 30 x 47 inches. Left: In the Night Sea at Fosse, 2024, organic peace silk, wax, green indigo, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 30 x 29 inches.
Similar to Crosscurrent and Just Beyond Fyksesund, we see the following objects on the left side wall: Fjord (right) and In the Night Sea at Fosse (left). I find myself drawn to the weathered portions of the silk. Instantly, I noticed Fjord.
Fjord (top image) is anthropomorphic. The way the fabric looks human, the way the holes gape open, uncanny, so wound-like, the way it aged so much like leather, the wrinkles, the creases—it summons a quiet, sober reverence.
There is respect for Fjord and a deep compassion for the history of the silk. Perhaps the same can be said for In the Night Sea at Fosse, Crosscurrent, and Just Beyond Fyksesund. There is a slow, powerful, and irreversible change that occurs in the fabrics, an oscillation between nurture and neglect. Leaving the materials out for weeks—to take them back—cleaning, drying, straightening, stitching, and waxing; there is an element of healing.
The fabric holds a type of presence. It takes on the essence of the place, the memory of the water. The history is held in its delicate silk fibers—the erosion serves as a channel for embodiment. I find satisfaction, even redemption, in their display.
Sund, 2024, video and sound installation including video Sea at Songerfjord, Norway (Bateman), with Sound recording Underwater by biologist Dr. Heike Vester, Vestfjorden, Norway, including noise pollution affecting whales’ communication, navigation, and feeding. Image courtesy of Form+Content gallery.
I find a similar satisfaction in Sund. In the video and sound installation, Sund shows an upside-down 80-second loop of the sea at Sognefjord. Its sound, an underwater recording by biologist Dr. Heike Vester in Vesterfjorden, features the water’s noise pollution. Composed of textiles, found objects, and now, time-based media, Sund (Notes from the Sea) positions itself in the zeitgeist of contemporary art, a show of new mixed media.
The noise pollution, boat engines, and seismic airgun explosions hugely affect whales' communication, navigation, and feeding. Much like Seadrift 1, there is an element of perspective. What would it feel like to exist in this water? What would it be like to see through the water?
Detail on Left: Foss 1, 2024 (left), organic peace silk, flat silk thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 8 x 13 inches. Right: Foss 7, 2024, organic peace silk, flat silk thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months, 13 x 17 inches. Images courtesy of Jeff Cords.
The show ends much like it began. Foss 1-7, the final piece in the gallery, is made up of a group of small organic peace silk samples, much like the fragments of Seadrift 1-3. This work is delicate. The scale is intimate. Foss 1-7 shows diligence, confidence, and careful restraint.
Detail: Foss 7, 2024, organic peace silk, flat silk thread, wax, fermented mineral mud dye, natural deterioration occurring over six months,13 x 17 inches. Image courtesy of Jeff Cords.
The stitches are microscopic, carefully formed from the back of the piece. Looking at Foss 7, I see the most tiny, almost unnoticeable stitches. Just as with Fjord, In the Night Sea at Fosse, Crosscurrent, and Just Beyond Fyksesund, there is a healing element within Foss 1-7—even more so with its intimate scale. The cleaning, drying, and stitching are all facets of healing; they point back to the history of textiles, and moreover, the history of women. Women, the ones who largely occupied this practice of textiles, quilting, embroidery, and weaving, are natural healers.
Moira Bateman is more than a textile artist; she is an environmentalist, an environmental artist, and a healer.
Sund (Notes from the Sea) makes manifest the moments we forget in our history. Through the soaking of organic peace silk, Fjord, In the Night Sea at Fosse, Crosscurrent, Just Beyond Fyksesund, and Foss 1-7 provide language and shape to the delicate, wild phenomenon that is our earth and ecosystem. This work is embodiment: being in the world and being an object in the world. Bateman’s work contextualizes history. Ultimately, Sund is a witness.
The environmental forces shaping our waters demand our attention, reflection, and action. When I look at contemporary art in 2025, I see a platform ripe for good. The United Nations has developed a set of 17 goals to improve economic, social, and environmental conditions by 2030. Looking at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, I see Bateman and the show Sund (Notes from the Sea) fulfilling seven.
Quality Education (4) Clean Water and Sanitation (6) Decent work and economic growth, including sustainable economic growth (8) Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, including sustainable industrialization (9) Responsible Consumption and Production (12) Climate Action (13) Life Below Water (14) Partnerships for the Goals (17).
We like to think of Earth as invincible or impenetrable. But really, Earth and its ecosystems are as fragile and delicate as our very own lives. The ecosystem, the climate—it is a tender, coordinated dance. The earth is gentle; we must be gentle with her. Earth is more than our home—Earth is who we are; we don’t simply occupy the world—our fibers, our DNA, our being comes out of places of earth and water, and ultimately… goes back in. Why are we not cultivating, nurturing, and protecting the very environment, the very being, that nurtures us? Sund (Notes from the Sea) bears witness to this truth.
Moira Bateman in Hardangerfjord, 2024. This picture was taken during her residency at Kunstnarhuset Messen (Arthouse Messen) in Ålvik, Norway. Image courtesy of the artist.
Laura Laptsevitch is an art educator and art historian based in the greater Minneapolis area. She holds a Master’s degree in Art History and Visual Culture from Lindenwood University and a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. With experience spanning K-12 classrooms, community arts programming, and museum education, Laptsevitch has led public art initiatives and contributed to community-based projects throughout the twin-cities.
